Grenade thrown at US embassy in Yemen

A UNIVERSITY student threw a hand-grenade near the US embassy in the Yemeni capital today.

The student, Samir Yahya Awadh, was arrested by security personnel within moments as he was reaching in his pocket for another grenade, an official at the president's office said.

A State Department spokesman in Washington said the explosion was about a block away from the embassy. There were no injuries or damage to the embassy.

Yemeni police and soldiers closed off nearby streets and searched vehicles. Witnesses had reported seeing a car speeding from the site after the explosion, which occurred just before 6pm local time (1500 GMT).

The blast came a day after US vice president Dick Cheney visited San'a airport for two hours of talks with Yemeni president Ali Abdullah Saleh about the war on terrorism.

Security in Yemen has been a major concern of America since a boat laden with explosives slammed into the USS Cole in October 2000, killing 17 American sailors in an attack linked to Osama bin Laden.